South Korea reported 27 more cases of the new coronavirus Sunday as health officials try to stem infections linked to a logistics center in the Seoul metropolitan area. The new cases, 15 of them local infections, raised South Korea's total coronavirus caseload to 11,468, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The daily rise of new virus cases reached nearly a two month-high of 79 on Thursday, then declined to 58 Friday and 39 Saturday. But health authorit

Two American soldiers newly assigned to South Korea have tested positive for the coronavirus, United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Saturday, bringing the total number of infections among its population to 30. The service members arrived here on Wednesday on a US government-arranged charter flight and were in mandatory quarantine at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to USFK. After testing positive, the soldiers were moved to other places inside the ba

South Koreans celebrated the Buddha's birthday Saturday after a one-month delay caused by the new coronavirus outbreaks, with many praying for the Buddha's wisdom to help weather the pandemic. Congregants held celebrations at more than 20,000 temples across the nation to mark the Buddha's 2,564th birthday after a monthlong session to pray for the world to quickly emerge from the COVID-19 scourge. At the Jogye Temple, the headquarters of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in central Seoul, so

South Korea's daily number of new coronavirus cases dropped below 40 Saturday, amid a stepped-up push to contain cluster infections traced to a distribution center just west of Seoul and fend off a potential virus resurgence. The country logged 39 additional COVID-19 cases, down 19 from the previous day, bringing the total caseload to 11,441, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The latest tally marked a drop from the nearly two-month high of 79 on Thursda

A fired worker of Samsung Group ended his one-year protest atop a 25-meter tower in southern Seoul on Friday after reaching an agreement with South Korea's largest conglomerate. Kim Yong-hee, a former employee of the now-defunct Samsung Techwin Co., has been involved in in a dispute with the group since he was fired in 1995. He claimed he was unlawfully dismissed for his activity to establish a labor union, which had been virtually banned by the family-controlled conglomerate until recently.

Yoon Mi-hyang, lawmaker-elect for the ruling Democratic Party and longtime activist for victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, on Friday denied alleged misappropriation of donations raised for the victims. Breaking silence after nearly weeks and one day before her four-year parliamentary term begins, Yoon apologized to the public for causing concerns, vowed to clarify suspicions and to serve as a lawmaker “responsibly.” “It is a false claim that funds raised for t

From June, foreign residents of South Korea have to provide a medical certificate showing they do not have symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, to reenter the country. The ministry said the new disease control policy applies to people leaving the country after June, including long-term residency permit holders. The certificate has to be issued within the last 48 hours from the time of departure in order to be deemed valid, the mini

S. Korea reports 55 locally transmitted cases, all in Seoul area

South Korea signed a five-year contract with Korean Air Lines Co. on Friday to lease a Boeing 747-8i jet as the next presidential plane, the defense ministry said. Under the 300 billion won ($242.3 million) deal, the country's No. 1 air carrier will provide pilots, crew members, mechanics, as well as a back-up plane of the same type for the president's overseas trips, according to the ministry. The plane will enter service in November next year after going through remodeling work and necessa

A local court confirmed a 5 1/2-year prison sentence for Yoon Jung-cheon, a construction contractor alluded in the sexual bribery scandal surrounding former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui. The Seoul High Court on Friday confirmed the lower court’s prison sentence for Yoon, 59, on charges of fraud and bribery. Yoon has been at the center of a corruption and bribery scandal involving Kim. The case gained attention after a video of a sex party surfaced. Kim, who retired from public servic

The South Korean government announced Friday it will work with packaging and delivery sectors to cut 20 percent of their plastic use. The Ministry of Environment said that it has signed an agreement with the Korea Plastic Packaging Container Association, Baedal Minjok (Baemin), Korea Franchise Association and the Korea Zero Waste Movement Network to work together to reduce the amount of plastic used in food and beverage item deliveries. By standardizing plastic containers used for deliveries

An Army soldier has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections among military population to 53, the defense ministry said Friday. The soldier, stationed in the border town of Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, underwent a COVID-19 test upon returning from vacation, as his parents were suspected of contracting the virus. Later, they also tested positive. He took a bus back to his base from the city of Incheon, west of Seoul, along with 15 others, and the authori

South Korea reported more than 50 new virus cases for the second consecutive day Friday, all in the Seoul metropolitan area due to logistics center-tied cluster infections, putting renewed strain on health authorities to contain further spread in the densely populated region. South Korea reported 58 more additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 11,402, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Of them, 55 were local infections. Friday's tally ma

South Korean prosecutors called in Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong again Friday as part of an investigation into a controversial merger between two Samsung units. The summons came three days after Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee was questioned for 17 hours about suspicions surrounding the 2015 merger of two major affiliates: Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Industries Inc. Prosecutors suspect Samsung's top management was involved in efforts to facilitate Lee's managerial succession from

Lawmaker-elect Yoon Mee-hyang, a longtime activist for wartime sexual slavery victims, is set to hold a press conference this week to clarify her position over allegations of financial misdeeds involving her and her civic group. "Lawmaker-elect Yoon has decided to hold a press conference on Friday ... (She) will deliberate on the schedule and venue and let the party know," an official of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Thursday. Yoon, former head of the Korean Council for Just